McPeeved

Posted 26 June 2011

I don’t normally complain about customer service. If service is bad, I just don’t tip as well as I normally would, or don’t go back. But recently I have become so irritated by an issue that I have complained twice. And both times I got the same excuse, “…we don’t like it either, but it is corporate policy”.

After hearing that excuse for the second time within a couple of months, I was fired-up. I decided I was ready to go on-line and find a number or email address so I could contact the corporate office. It was time I let them know how much their policy is making customers upset.

Now, 24 hours later, I am wondering why should I waste my time to try and help them realize how their policy stifles their store’s ability to deliver customer satisfaction. Then I realized how timely this was considering that Brad Feiler, Mike Westra and I have all blogged about very similar issues in the past few weeks.

When it gets late, or I am in a hurry, I go through the drive-thru at the local fast food restaurant. (Hopefully my doctor doesn’t read this, because he has been on me to lose weight for a long time, and fast food is strictly forbidden.) I know I shouldn’t do it, but sometimes I have to and I feel guilty about it. I imagine many of their other customers feel this way too. So why would they do anything that makes the experience less than pleasing on purpose?

Several weeks ago I drove up to the menu/speaker to hear “Welcome! Would you like to try a fruit and maple oatmeal? Please order when you are ready”. So I start to order, and then I hear “Sorry I didn’t get any of that can you please repeat your order”.

At this point I asked the person why had they told me to ‘order when ready’ if they weren’t ready to receive an order. They informed me that it was corporate policy to play that recording… even though they are often not ready. I thought it was a stupid policy, but let it pass, and repeated my order. A couple of weeks later I returned, and remembering the problems from my previous visit, I paused for a minute or so when the recording finished. Then I asked if they were ready to hear my order.

Last night I returned for the third time. We were in a hurry trying to get food and get back home in time to watch a TV show that was about to start. As soon as the recording finished I gave my order, and when done I hear, “I am sorry can you please repeat the order I didn’t hear it”, I said “This really makes me (cleaned up here for the blog) angry. Every time I come here, you ask me to order when I am ready, but you are never ready”.

When I got around to the second window, a manager handed me my food and said she had heard the exchange over her headset and wanted to explain that it was corporate policy to play that recording even though they are usually not ready to take the order at that time. She said, “Myself and many of the other employees hate that and know how frustrating it is for the customer, but it is corporate policy, and they make us play that message”.

In the competitive market of fast food business, I cannot image any corporation would set a policy to possibly annoy so many customers. I don’t know the true root cause of the problem, and I don’t know if it is a corporate policy or an internal store issue, but I was not happy. Not knowing if this really was a corporate policy, I called the 1-800 number from their website and talked to someone who verified that she gets this complaint almost every day, I suggested to just remove the ‘order when ready’ phase and have them say that part live. She seemed to think it was much more complicated than that and there was a hardware type issue with the system (I don’t even want to go there).

I could see the manager truly wanted to fix the problem, but felt her hands were tied. I understand the importance of standardization to ensure the quality of the food that is prepared and served, but to standardize things that are obviously an annoyance to the customer is wrong.

I think that manager would have gladly given me a number to the corporate office with the hope that my complaint could get the policy changed. To me the sad issue was the reality of her fear of doing it herself. Or her fear of incurring corporate wrath by just ignoring the policy for her store. Why is she afraid to step up and get the policy changed?

If their corporate culture was customer focused, don’t you think suggestions to fix these types of problems would be eagerly accepted? Fear or perceived fear is a characteristic that unfortunately affects too many companies. I remember Jack Nicholson’s line, “You can’t handle the truth!” and how fitting that line can be when used to describe many in leadership roles.

For a customer centered culture, you must learn to see the truth and correct any issues that you find, not bury your head in the sand and ignore it. Every employee must feel empowered to make suggestions and raise issues without fear of repercussions. In fact, they should be rewarded and encouraged to do so. Then, maybe someday, I can get a quick meal without becoming upset.

Them's the Breaks

Posted 16 June 2011

Kano Model

The Kano Model is a tool commonly used in the product development process to help classify customer wants and needs into one of three main categories.

The first category is called Basic Needs.  Basic Needs are customer needs that are usually unspoken unless they are violated.  These types of needs don’t add to the overall customer satisfaction of the product, but they can take away from the satisfaction level if they are not met.  An example of a Basic Need in an automobile is its ability to keep water from entering the inside of the car and getting the driver wet.  A car owner never runs over to his neighbor and brags about how well his new car keeps water out; this is because it is expected.  However, if his new car leaked water on him when he went through the car wash, you bet he would complain to his neighbor about that!

The second category is called Performance Needs.  Performance Needs are things that the
customer will most likely talk about in everyday conversation.  These types of needs add to the customers overall satisfaction when delivered well and detract from their overall satisfaction when done poorly.  An example of a Performance Need in the hotel industry would be the quality of the view from your hotel room.  If the view is terrible, say looking straight at a brick wall two feet away, the customer would most likely complain about it and be upset.  However, if the view is overlooking a beautiful bluff with a view of the ocean, then the customer will be very satisfied.

The third category is called Excitement Needs.  Excitement Needs are customer needs that are usually unspoken because the customer doesn’t even know that they are possible.  These needs don’t detract from the overall customer satisfaction level because the customer doesn’t even know it is possible but, if they discover it in their product they are excited and feel like they got something extra.

I recently discovered that the brake system in my wife’s car is a great example of all three types of customer needs.  First, it has a break system that stops the car every time we hit the brake pedal; obviously this is a Basic Need.  Up until now, I have never mentioned this feature to anyone because it met my expectations.  Second, the original brake pads have lasted 95K miles; this is a Performance Need.  Brake pad life is a Performance Need because if it is too short, say 8K miles, the customer would be very upset.  However, delivering 95K miles on the original pads is something that I am very pleased with.  Third, at 95K miles the car actually flashed a message on the gauge cluster asking my wife to please check the brake pads; this is an Excitement Need!  The car knows when it needs the brake pads changed and it quietly informs the driver!  I say quietly because we’ve probably all experienced the alternative method of informing the driver of worn brake pads, squealing.  Squealing is an effective method of informing the driver but, can also embarrass them every time they slow down.  My wife’s car informs only the driver so that she can rectify the situation without any undue embarrassment; now I’m excited!  Previously, I would have never talked about this feature because I didn’t even know that such a thing was possible.  From now on I will be looking for it in every future vehicle that we purchase and I will be disappointed if it doesn’t have it.

In order to really win in the market place, your products need to deliver on all three types of needs.  Basic Needs are met by everyone, so these won’t differentiate your product from your competition.  You can choose to beat your competition in Performance Needs as a way to differentiate yourself but someone else can always come along and one-up you too.  Excitement Needs are a way to truly differentiate your products and make sure your customers come back to you looking for more.  Make sure you deliver them all so that you are giving your customer the full package!

Power to the People!

Posted 18 March 2011

While I was pumping my gas the other day, I noticed an advertisement sign sitting on the top of the gas pump.  The sign said that if all Americans would keep their tires inflated to the proper pressure, as recommended by the manufacturer, we could collectively save 700 million gallons of gasoline per year.  The sign was an advertisement for ExxonMobile tire linersthat are intended to help reduce the amount of air lost through the tire.  While I found the concept intriguing, it wasn’t the first thing that popped into my head as I read the sign.

There I was, standing outside of my car waiting for the gas to finish pumping.  I read the sign and was suddenly motivated to make sure that my tires were properly inflated.  I looked around and noticed one small problem; the very moment, at which I was motivated to act, I was not empowered to act.  I looked around and spotted the air compressor, far away on the other side of the parking lot in an area that is not well lit.  My heart sunk.  See, I know myself well enough to know that my likelihood of acting on my impulse goes down considerably with time.  I was stuck there waiting for the gas to finish pumping, with the time to inflate my tires, and couldn’t do it.  So what happened?  I got in my car, drove out of the parking lot and didn’t think about my tire pressure again that day.

You may think I am strange for not taking the time to go over to that air compressor and check my tire pressure, but am I really any different than everyone else?  I’ve never seen a line at the air station.  Actually, the only time I ever see anyone at the air station is when they have an obviously flat tire.  Why is this?  We all know that driving on under inflated tires is bad for fuel economy, tire life, and possibly a safety hazard and yet we rarely if ever check our tire pressure and make sure it is where it is supposed to be.  I believe the problem is just as I described above; at the very moment in time which I was motivated to act and had the time to act, I was not empowered to act.

So what is the solution?  My proposal is simple – make compressed air with a tire gauge available at each fuel pump.  That way, I can check and adjust all of my tire pressures while I am waiting for my gas to finish pumping.  Empower the people to make a change at the exact time and location where they are motivated to do it!

I don’t own a gas station so I can’t say why they don’t do this today but I’d bet if asked, most would point to the underutilization of the one air station they have today as justification for not buying 15 more of them.  Why buy 15 of an item that only gets used 2% of the time?  Maybe we are looking at it all wrong.  Maybe the reason it is only utilized 2% of the time is because we put it in a place that is so inconvenient to use that people will only use it when they absolutely have to (about 2% of the time).  I would be willing to bet if a gas station were to invest in the installation of compressed air at each gas pump, the utilization rate would be much higher.

This post is not just about gas stations and properly inflated tires, but rather about empowering your people to act at the right time and proper location. 

If you own a factory, think of these questions...

How many brooms and dust pans are in your factory?

How far does the average worker have to walk to get a broom and dust pan? 

How much cleaner could your factory be if every place where a worker ran into a mess on the floor, magically there was a broom and dust pan within arm’s reach? 

How much cleaner would your factory be if you empowered your people to clean at the very moment when they felt motivated to do so?

Think of how many times we do this in our own lives.  How many times do we walk over some mess because there isn’t a convenient vacuum around to clean it up?  How many times do we drive on underinflated tires because there isn’t a convenient air station to use?  How many times do you improvise and try to pry open a can of paint with a screw driver because there isn’t a convenient can opener within reach?  How many times do we not do what we are motivated to do, because we are not empowered to do it at that very moment?

Too many times!

It’s time to start making a difference in our own lives.  Empower ourselves and our people to act.  Next time you are out buying a broom, buy two or three.  Place them in strategic locations that are likely to have a mess.  If you own a gas station, invest in more air compressors and see if they get used more (you would not only be helping the American people save fuel but would also be setting your gas station apart from all of the other gas stations around).  If you are in the customer service industry, empower your employees to go above and beyond for your customers whenever they feel motivated to do so.  This small investment in resources will create huge returns in customer satisfaction. 

Let’s all start making a difference by empowering our people to act when they are motivated to do so.

Good luck and feel free to share your story if you have experienced a change in behavior due to empowerment.

Service Worthy of a Treat

Posted 16 March 2011

In today’s world of blogging, there seems to be much more complaining about poor products and services than there is praising good products and services. I think it’s important for us to recognize great service so we can learn from it just as we do with the more commonly discussed examples of poor service. So, here is a recent experience I had.

A few months ago my wife and I went overseas for a European/Middle-eastern vacation lasting over two weeks. This meant that leading up to the trip there was a lot to plan for, which for the most part was fun. We researched a lot on the internet and we figured out what we wanted to see and experience in the different cities and countries we were going to visit. Unfortunately, there were other things we needed to consider while we were planning the trip. We had to think about not just our vacation, but who would watch our house and even our dog. We have an Old English Sheepdog (think Shaggy Dog), named LaFleur, who at the time was just 9 months old. If you’ve had a puppy, especially of a larger breed, you know they have to somehow spend a lot of energy.  LaFleur is certainly no exception. He can be a lot to handle and we knew it would be too much to ask of any of our friends to take care of him for the entire duration of our trip.

One option available to us was to let LaFleur stay at a place called Canine College where we occasionally take him for ‘daycare’. Taking him here is great because while we’re at work or busy with other plans on the weekend, he gets to play with plenty of other dogs which he loves. We love it too since it usually wears him out so much that after we pick him up he becomes very low maintenance because he’s so tired! And if our plans mean that he needs a place to stay overnight –they have boarding for the dogs as well. They get their own ‘dorm rooms’ to sleep in and everything (and no, it’s not a cage). In our experience, the people at Canine College have always been great with their customers (us) and their ‘students’ (the dogs) too.

The idea of leaving LaFleur at Canine College for two-plus weeks made us a bit nervous mostly because he had never stayed there more than 24 hours. Still, we decided to do it. When we left LaFleur there, we knew that he would have fun and be able to wear himself out every day (which meant he wouldn’t be chewing up a friend’s shoes). Still, when we dropped him off the morning before we left on our trip, it was tough. We doubted if we were doing the right thing. When we left him there, we left my parents’ names and number in case they needed to contact anyone while we were away. We hoped LaFleur would last the whole trip there and that they wouldn’t need to call my parents at all, especially since my mom isn’t much of a dog person. But if that was the case, this whole story would be far less interesting.

Three days later we’re on a bus in Malta and we get a phone call from Canine College. Between the cell reception and the noise of the bus, it was difficult to hear what was being said at the other end of the line. Sure enough the call dropped… There we were in Malta enjoying our vacation and now suddenly we’re just worried. It must be bad if they’re calling us. They had my parents’ cell phone numbers. Something must really be wrong with LaFleur. Through my mom, we got back in touch with them and addressed the concern. Turns out his fur got pretty matted down and tangled which meant they had to cut some of the tangles out. We were having him brushed every two days or so to prevent this –but when he’s outside playing (especially in the snow), it can get bad fast. They were simply calling us prior to cutting his hair because he might look a little different and they wanted to make sure that was ok with us.  This would be his shortest hair cut yet. But they took care of it with our approval knowing it would be best for him to stay comfortable.

Next issue: About a week or so later, he runs out of food. Turns out he eats much more than usual when he’s so active playing with so many other dogs all day. They call my parents to bring in another bag for him. Problem solved, right? Not so fast. This bag has worms in it! They call my parents again, they come out to see the issue and pick up the bag to return it to the store and replace it with another.

A day or two later my mom gives us a pretty detailed update on LaFleur and the recent issue over the phone. At this point, my wife and I are kind of surprised that my parents seem to be so comfortable and even interested in what’s going on at Canine College. During the call my mom explains to us that while checking in on LaFleur in regard to one of these issues, they were given a tour by one of the ‘faculty’. My wife and I have been there many times and always felt pretty good about the people there and the service they provide. My mom on the other hand had never been there prior to responding to these issues while we were away. I imagine she might have even been a bit nervous going there the first time as she’s not much of a dog person to begin with. As she was telling us about the tour she and my dad had been given, she seemed to be somewhat enthusiastic. She described the facility, the ‘dorm rooms’ that the dogs slept in, the play areas and how they were divided into Freshman, JV and Varsity, how they prepared the food for the dogs and kept each dog’s food separate from the others, etc. Now I was impressed with how much she seemed to know about the place. And my parents both were clearly impressed with how friendly and professional everyone was which made us feel at ease from halfway around the world.

There were other things that Canine College did to give us peace of mind as well. For instance, they have a facebook page where occasionally they’ll post pictures of the dogs staying there and they made sure to post several of LaFleur so we could see him while we were away. On their website, they have a live webcam streaming video so after a long day of walking around and sightseeing on our trip, we could sign in to watch him play for a few minutes if we wanted to.

We even thought about it some more and in regard to that first phone call we received when LaFleur’s fur became matted, we took comfort in knowing that we would be contacted before anything ‘drastic’ was done. All of this made us feel like we definitely made the right decision having him stay there while we were away. My wife and I were able to enjoy our trip knowing we had peace of mind with LaFleur in good hands.

Canine College went above and beyond to make sure my parents and my wife and I were comfortable with everything going on at their facility. The service was truly exceptional. It was not free of course, but it was definitely worth it. And with service like this Canine College deserves to be praised and they will certainly gain many repeat customers because of it. Oh, and LaFleur enjoys it every time he’s there too. I know because that’s what his ‘report card’ says.

To learn about Canine College, go to www.caninecollegemi.com